Selfless Love
by TJoan
Summary: When Bella was younger, she dreamed of true love; the kind you read about in fairy tales. But years later, real-life circumstances teach her that the real world is not a fantasy, and friendship and love go hand in hand.
1. Chapter 1 : Where It All Began

**Chapter One : Where It All Began**

I had always wanted one of those beautiful love stories. You know the kind that Nicholas Sparks writes about. I wanted a love that was like the wind _._ _"_ _You can't see it but you can feel it_ ". I thought I was living a fantasy. Those stories that Nicholas wrote were too beautiful to really exist in a world that was so cruel. A world that would hurt the kind and appreciate the mean. It wasn't until I experienced what I did that I realised love is possible. In more ways than one. It's unexpected, it's selfless and it's magical. I remember it as if it was yesterday.

I guess I should take you back to the beginning, that way you can experience what I did.

It was the September of 2016. My best friend Edward was coming back from spending the past few months in Paris. To say I was excited was an understatement. It was the longest he and I had spent apart.

I waited by the college gates, I had text him saying I'd be waiting there so I knew he'd show up. Time was ticking on and I was about to head inside when I noticed him walking towards me.

"Edward!" I yelled. Running towards him, I flung my arms around his neck. "I've missed you. How are you? How was Paris? Did you go to the Eiffel Tower?" He gave me a soft hug before pulling away from me. He looked more miserable than I had imagined.

"Yeah I did. Paris was great. Come on, let's go in or we're going to be late." Before I could even question what was wrong he was heading towards the building. I figured his odd behaviour was just the outcome of being tired.

As we walked into the building, I noticed the rest of our friends were waiting where we would normally meet. Rosalie was the first to notice us. She hugged Edward, which he returned _enthusiastically_. As I walked closer I could hear her whispering in his ear,

"I heard what happened. Don't worry, we'll get through this. Have..." Once she noticed I was getting closer she stopped talking and smiled,

"Hey Bella. How are you?" She let go of Edward and embraced me. I hugged her back, less enthusiastically than Edward did, and smiled,

"Great, thanks." I watched as everyone greeted Edward before coming to say hi to me. There seemed to be an atmosphere amongst us which I couldn't figure out. I hadn't seen anyone since we left for the summer. They all seemed to be busy.

Emmett wrapped one arm across my shoulders, "How was your summer, Bell? I missed you." I rolled my eyes. I hated him calling me _Bell_ , it was a nickname he gave me the day we met, and had somehow stuck since then.

"It was fine, Em. How was yours?" I smirked when I called him _Em_. He hated his nickname too, but it was a _lose-lose_ situation. He called me Bell to wind me up for calling him Em and I would call him Em for calling me Bell.

"Not too bad. Sorry I was busy, I promise next year I'll make some time for you." I chuckled and nudged him softly, "How was your Summer Edward? Did you change your mind? We'll all support you, whatever you choose." Just as Emmett had finished his sentence Rosalie jabbed her elbow into his side, "Ouch." I furrowed my brows and looked from one person to the other,"Support him with what?" A silence fell between us. Each of them were looking from one another not knowing what to say. Edward has his eyes locked down at the ground. It wasn't until the bell rang that they managed to utter anything. It was Rosalie who finally spoke,"Let's go, don't want to be late on our first day."

They all began to manoeuvre down the corridor towards the theatre. I sighed and slowly followed behind them. What were they hiding from me? What was Edward hiding from me?

* * *

 **Hiya,**

 **Bit of a short chapter. I wanted to just start with something short to get the story going.**

 **I promise all will be explained!**

 **I'm a bit rusty with the whole writing thing, you can probably tell! **Insert eye roll emoji****

 **I hope you enjoy!**

 **Feel free to leave advice or reviews, it would mean a lot!**

 **Thank you for taking your time to read it.**

 **This plot has been bugging me forever**

 **T**

 **xx**


	2. Chapter 2 : A Perfect Name for a Perfect

**Hello.**

 **Thank you for coming back for chapter two.**

 **I know the first one was a bit bad, _sorry I'm still a bit rusty_.**

* * *

 **Chapter 2: A Perfect Name for a Perfect Face**

The first week of college was long. I asked everyone what they were supporting Edward through, but they just didn't answer. They would change the subject or ignore me and pretend they didn't hear.

I couldn't deal with it. I thought we all were honest with each other. Especially Edward and I. We had been best friends for years, and we had always been open with things.

On the Wednesday, I noticed Edward and Rosalie were not around at lunchtime, so I decided to go and look for them. I headed to the theatre as we would sometimes hang out there if the canteen was busy. As I walked through the doors I could hear hushed voices. Familiar voices. It was Edward and Rosalie and they were talking...about me. Rosalie was saying,

"You don't have to tell Bella. None of us will either. It's your business Edward and it's up to you who you tell." I scoffed quietly. Why was she persuading him to keep things from me. Edward replied,

"I won't be telling her. She doesn't need to know. It will only make things worse." Rosalie was starting to say something else but my phone began to ring. I tried to grab it out of my pocket and turn it off before they noticed I was listening but by the time I had managed to end the call I looked up and they were stood in front of me.

"Bella? Were you listening to what we were saying?" Edward had a look of worry on his face.

"No…I was just….I was just looking for you both. I've literally only just walked in. Why? Is everything okay?" I glanced over at Rosalie who looked as if she didn't believe what I was saying. Edward nodded,

"Everything is fine. Lets go get some food." I smiled slightly,

"Sure."

After that I decided to keep my distance for the rest of the week. I was confused. I wasn't sure if something I had done was the cause of me being outcast. Or maybe it was something they had decided over the Summer and were able to rope Edward in on it too.

Once home, after being on my own for the majority of Friday, I realised that keeping my distance was not going to help me. It would just lead to me being on my own constantly, and that's definitely not something I wanted. After weighing up the options I decided confronting Edward was the best chance I had of finding the answers to the questions I had.

It took me a little bit longer than usual to get to Edwards's house. For some reason I was nervous. I had never felt as nervous as I was when it came to Edward. I always knew he'd understand and support me.

I knocked on the door and waited for what seemed like forever. Eventually his Mother answered door. The smell of fresh cooking hit my face. I always loved Edwards house and that was one of the reasons. Esme would always be cooking up something amazing, which would always fill the house with that fresh smell of treats. Especially around Christmas time. She would always having something cooking in the oven. I took in the smell, imagining what it tasted like, before smiling up at Esme.

"Hello Esme, I was just wondering if Edward was around?" She smiled,

"Of course. He's upstairs. How are you Bella? It's been a while." I chuckled softly,

"It has been. I'm fine thank you. How are you?"  
"I'm perfectly fine. Would you like a drink or snack? I can bring it up to you." I shook my head and shot a soft smile in her direction,

"Thank you for the offer but I am fine. I won't be staying too long, I have some work to do." I slipped my shoes off at the door before heading upstairs towards Edward's room.

By the time I got to Edward's bedroom door my heart was racing. It took me a few minutes, to calm down, before I managed to knock on the door. Edward opened it a few seconds later. He looked bit shock to see me before put on an extremely obvious fake smile.

"Bella, what are you doing here?" I shrugged,

"I think we need to talk, Edward." He nodded and stepped aside so that I could walk into the room.

"So what do we need to talk about?" Edward glanced at me. I hesitated, wondering if I should actually say anything. It was the right thing to do. We were best friends, which meant we had to be honest with each other.

"What are you and the others hiding from me. You've all been off with me since you got back from Paris. Please, just tell me what I have done so that I can try and fix it. Edward looked at me. He sighed and shook his head.

"Nothing, Bella. I'm just getting used to being back, that's all."

"What about what Emmett said on Monday? He asked if you had changed your mind. Changed your mind about what?"

"Just uh...you know, college. I was questioning whether it was right for me, which I've decided, it is."

I knew he was lying to me. It was written all over his face. We had known each other since nursery, of course I knew when he was lying. Knowing he wasn't going to be honest with me, I bit my lip softly and sighed,

"Right, well I should go. I have stuff to do." Before Edward could say goodbye I was out of his bedroom and back downstairs, slipping my shoes back on. Saying goodbye to his Mum, I left without even looking to see if he had followed me downstairs. I was hurt that someone I trusted was able to lie to me about something that seemed to be serious.

Throughout the weekend, Edward had tried to call me, but I didn't feel like talking. Not until he was ready to be honest with me. One thing I had decided was that if he did not tell me by Monday, I was going to ask Rose.

When Monday made a return I still hadn't heard the truth from Edward, so I knew Rosalie was the only way I could get the truth. She was usually honest, well most of the time, even if the honesty was something we didn't like.

I tapped on here door. I knew the best way I had a chance of her not covering up the lie was to talk to her alone. I waited a few moments before she opened it. Her already formed smiled dropped and a look of shock came over her face.

"Bella? Sorry I thought you were Edward. We were going to head to college together." I smiled slightly and shook my head.

"Nope, not Edward. Sorry. Look can we talk quickly, before he gets here?"

Rosalie grabbed her back and stepped out of the house.

"Okay, sure. What's up?"

"Rosalie, please just tell me what's going on. It's not fair. I feel like an outsider." Rosalie scoffed,

"Why so dramatic, Bella. Nothing is going on."

"Cut the crap. I didn't take you for being a liar. Just tell me." Rosalie looked at me and chuckled, a sly grin came across her face.

"Fine, you want the truth? Maybe Edward just doesn't want to be your friend. You're constantly poking your nose into shit that doesn't concern you. Maybe he's sick of you being around." Before I could say anything she pushed passed me, "I'll catch Edward on the way. See ya."

Rosalie had caught me off guard. I knew she be harsh but her words really hurt. Was she right? Was Edward done with our friendship? Had Paris changed him more than I could have imagined?

College wasn't the right place for me after what Rosalie had said, so I went into town. It was quiet. More quiet that when I would usually go to town. Although it was 9 O'clock on a Monday morning so it was kind of expected.

I hadn't realised I was kicking along a screwed up ball of paper until I heard him talk.

"Hey there, litter bug. You know that's extremely bad for the environment." I glanced up. His blonde hair almost looked white in the early morning light. His side smile caused my words to disappear.  
"I was just kidding. I'm not the litter police. I manged to get out a small, frog-like, laugh. He smirked at me,

"What is a small girl like you doing walking around her own?" I frowned. Who did he think he was, calling me small.

"Small girl?! Excuse me, I'm far from small. Just because you're taller than me, it doesn't mean I couldn't take you on. I'm mighty." The stranger chuckled,

"Okay, okay. I take it back. What are you doing walking around on your own? Something on your mind?" I raised my eyebrows and smiled,

"Oh, so first you insult me and now you're trying to be my therapist? I'll pass thanks." He let out the same laugh as he did before.

"Really? I thought we were getting somewhere." I smiled at him and twiddled my fingers,

"You'd be lucky." He raised his right brow and shook his head,  
"Is that so? I guess I would. I'd love to stay and chat, but I have this boring meeting that I have to attend, sadly. Here." He put his hand into his pocket and pulled out a card,

"Call me sometime. I'd love to see how might you really are." I smirked and bit my lip.

"You don't even know my name. What makes you think I'd want to talk to you again, let alone give you my number?" Laughing, he shook his head.

"How about when you call me, you can give me your name." He didn't answer the question I asked. He began to walk away before looking back at me,  
"It's Carlisle, by the way. Catch you later, Kiddo." I watched him walk away, idiotically smiling to myself.

Carlisle

A perfect name for a perfect face.

* * *

 **So? What did you think?**

 **I promise everything will be revealed!**

 **I hope you enjoy this chapter.**

 **Thank you for coming to read it!**

 **T**

 **xx**


	3. Chapter 3 : The First Date

**Hey,**

 **I'm so sorry it took longer than it was supposed to.**

 **Loads of stuff came up so I wasn't able to finish the chapter or upload it.**

 **I hope you enjoy this Chapter!**

 **Don't worry, we'll almost at the point where Edward is honest.**

 **Thank you for sticking with me**

 **T**

 **xx**

* * *

 **Chapter 3: The First Date**

The phone rang but before anyone could answer, I hung up.

I was nervous.

Carlisle was different. He was like no one I had experienced before.

I managed to gain the confidence to ring again, and actually wait for him to answer. I dialled his number, but before I could press call, he was ringing me.

I hesitantly answered.

"H…hello?"

" _Oh hello, I missed a few phone calls from this number. Were you after somebody?"_

"Um, no. I mean, kind of."

Carlisle chuckled on the other end of the phone call, _"You're indecisive. Who are you looking for?"_

"Carlisle. We met this morning. In town."

 _"Oh yeah, the litterbug with no name. How's it going?"_

Unknowingly to Carlisle, I rolled my eyes, at the pet name he gave me. "Firstly, I'm not a litterbug, and secondly, I have a name. I'm just not sure if you deserve to know it."

 _"Oh is that so. I'll have you know, I'm a very respectable m_ _an. Of course, I des_ _erve to know."_

I laughed down the receiver, "Okay, fine. You've persuaded me. My names Bella, and I swear if you shorten it to Bell, I'm going to kill you."

 _"I'm currently crossing my heart. I promise I won't call you Bell, or anything that annoys you. Well not yet."_

I scoffed, "Whatever you say. So, how was your meeting?"

 _"Eh, just a normal meeting. Although, I was in a much happier mood than I normally would be."_

"How come?"

 _"Well, I me_ _t this girl today. She was pretty cute."_

"Really? I'm sure she was."

Carlisle laughed, _"Let me try and remember her name. It was something like Bea or Bell."_

I scoffed and rolled my eyes again, "Oh how original. Not to be a bore, but I should really go. I have to prepare for college tomorrow."

 _"Not a problem. Text me when you wake. I promise I'll reply."_

"Of course. Goodnight Carlisle."

 _"Goodnight, Bells."_

Before I could respond, Carlisle was gone.

I slept great the first night Carlisle and I spoke on the phone. Even with the stress of Edward and college playing on my mind.

When I woke up the next morning it completely dawned on me that people would be questioning why I wasn't there the day before.

I sent a quick text to Emmett. I knew he'd have my back, even if the others didn't. Other than Edward, Emmett was the closest to me in the group.

 _"Hey Em, I'll be i_ _n today, so I'll see you in_ _cl_ _ass. Missing u x."_

Emmett was waiting by the theatre when I arrived. Luckily, no one else was around. He gave me his normal hug and smiled,

"Hey, Bells, where were you yesterday?"

I shrugged, "Just didn't feel like coming in. Did I miss anything?"

"Ah, nothing to write home about. Edward skipped too. Don't tell me you both spent the day watching Netflix."

"Of course not. He's been off since we came back from the summer break."

"Really? Don't worry; I'm sure he's still pretty jet-lagged." I shrugged,

"I guess so."

Emmett and I were lost in conversation when Rosalie and Jacob arrived. Jake hugged me and gave Emmett a nod.

Rosalie sighed, "Bella, I'm sorry about yesterday. I was in a bad mood, and I took it out on you. What I said was completely false. Obviously, Edward wants to be your friend." I smiled at Rosalie before giving her a small hug,

"Rose, it's okay. I had no right to come to you. I accept your apology though. I just want things to go back to how they were."

Emmett decided to chime in. "So do we all, Bells. Things will get back there eventually." I rolled my eyes at him and laughed.

"So Bella, did you not show up yesterday because of what I said to you? I'm sorry I made you feel like you couldn't come, if that's why."

"Although what you said got me down, I didn't think I was in the mindset to see Edward. On another note though, I met a guy." Alice shrieked and clapped her hands together. I guess Rosalie and I were too busy apologising that we didn't hear Jasper and Alice creep up behind us.

Emmett jumped when Alice revealed her excitement.

"What's his name, Bella? Is he cute? Do you have a picture?"

I chuckled, "Slow down Alice. I only met him yesterday. His name is Carlisle, I don't have a picture of him, but he's super hot, and just…I don't know. He's something different." Rosalie raised a brow,

"Are we going to meet him, and does he have any single friends?"

"Maybe one day and I'm not too sure about the single friends, but I promise I'll ask for you."

For the majority of the day, Rosalie and Alice continued to ask me questions about Carlisle. They even wanted to know what he was sending me through text message. Whilst it was a pretty good day, I was confused as to why Edward hadn't bothered to turn up, again. No one brought it up, so I fought against what I wanted to do and didn't ask about why he wasn't there.

Once I had arrived home, Carlisle called and asked if I wanted to go for dinner with him, which I agreed to. It was the perfect chance to get my mind off Edward and actually figure out who Carlisle was.

We decided Friday was the perfect day, it meant we didn't have to worry about being out too late.

Throughout the week, I tried to keep occupied. Edward was not in at all, which was bugging me. Nobody brought it up, which made my thoughts run into overdrive. I knew the rest of the group probably had an idea as to why he wasn't there, but they were definitely not going to tell me.

Eventually, Friday came around. I had asked Alice and Rosalie to help me pick an outfit for the date. By the time I had found something the whole contents of my wardrobe was on my bed.

Rosalie smiled when I had changed into the black, velvet dress.

"Very nice. Nothing beats a little black dress."

I chuckled, "Very true. Do you think he'll like it."

"Of course, what do you think Alice?"

"One hundred percent. You look stunning, Bella."

I rolled my eyes. "Thank you. I think I have everything. He should be here any minute."

Rosalie's eyes widened.

"Wait, is he picking you up? I thought you were meeting him at the restaurant. Can we meet him? I want to see if he's really as hot as you say."

"No way. Not yet." I laughed and grabbed my clutch-bag. "If tonight goes well I promise you'll meet him. I just want to see if there's any kind of spark."

"Fine, we have to go meet Edward anyway. He sent me a text."

I frowned. "He did? Is everything okay? I can cancel the date if something is wrong."

"No, everything is fine. He just asked if we could go round. Enjoy your date. I'll let you know if anything important happens." I nodded and headed downstairs. I said goodbye to my dad before following Rosalie and Alice outside.

Alive gave me a hug.

"Have fun. Let me know how it goes."

I returned the hug and smiled. "Of course. Bye guys."

Rosalie said bye, and they both headed off into the direction of Edward's house.

It wasn't long after they were out of sight that Carlisle pulled up at the end of the garden. I smiled and walked towards the car.

"Hey litterbug, you look great." He got out and guided me around to the passenger side before opening the door for me.

"Thank you." I climbed in and he shut the door before making his way back around. "How has your week been? You look good, by the way."

"It's been great. Not too busy which is good. Well, I do try." He shot me a wink and smiled.

"Right, let's go."

The chat on the way to the restaurant was light-hearted and sweet. We discussed what we had been up to since we first met each other and I slyly asked if he had told anyone about me, which he answered with a yes. When we settled at our table, we began to talk more openly.

"So Bella, how come you ditched college on Monday?" I shrugged,

"You want the full story?" Carlisle nodded before sipping at his lemon water.

"Well, my best friend, Edward, he went away to Paris for the summer. We didn't speak for the majority of the time he was there. He sent me an email saying his phone charger had broken so he wouldn't be able to be in contact as often as we had agreed. Now that he's back, things have been bad. He hasn't had any time for me, and our friends know the truth, but none of them have told me. They end up changing the subject. It's stressful. I thought Edward and I were best friends."

Carlisle sighed, "They don't sound like very good friends, if I'm honest with you. You say you and this Edward guy were close, well, he should tell you what's going on, even if it's something you wouldn't want to hear. That's what friendship is all about isn't it? Telling the truth even when it's painful."

I took in what Carlisle was saying. It hurt to hear it, but he was right. I told Edward everything, and the fact that I was clearly upset by being in the dark didn't seem to bother him, and that made me question if our friendship was worth it anymore.

"What do you expect me to do then? I've tried confronting him, he wouldn't tell me."

"Make him tell you. There's only so many times a person can lie before they break and admit to what's going on." I nodded,

"I guess so. Maybe I'll try again. I'm worried. I don't want to end up alone."

Carlisle placed his hand on top of mine. "You're not alone. You have me now." My cheeks flushed red.

"Thanks." I chuckled. I thought for a moment, "Maybe, if you don't mind, we can go to Edward's after this? It would be nice to have you waiting in the car if I need you."

"Of course. Whenever you're ready, I'll pay the bill, and we can go."

"How about some dessert, then we can go?" Carlisle chuckled,

"Okay."

We both ordered chocolate cheesecake, which was delicious. I offered to half the bill, but Carlisle refused to let me. We headed out to the car, and I felt nervous again. Just like the day I had confronted Edward the first time. Carlisle, like the gentleman he was, opened the door for me.

The drive to Edward's house was silent. I figured Carlisle could sense I was nervous and didn't want to make it any worse.

"It's there on the left." Carlisle pulled over at the end of Edward's driveway.

"Are you sure you want to do this? I understand if you're not ready. I'll support whatever decision you make."

I took in a deep breath and nodded. "Yeah, I think I do. I need to do this. I need to get some answers or tell him we're going our separate ways. It's not fair for me to keep feeling this sad."

Carlisle squeezed my hand and smiled. "I'll be right here if you need me. Just call me, and I'll come inside."

I smiled slightly.

"Thank you." I pressed a kissed to his cheek before climbing out of the car. It took me a few seconds before I began to walk towards the door. I knew it was what I needed to do. I couldn't live like I was.

I rang the doorbell and Edward answered.

He smiled.

"Hey Edward, we need to discuss something. Can I come in?"

It seemed like de ja vu, except this time, I wasn't giving up so easily.

* * *

 **So, what did you think? I know not much happened in this chapter.**

 **I'm just leading up to the big reveal.**

 **Feel free to ask some questions, if you want to know anything.**

 **T**

 **xx**


	4. Chapter 4 : The Truth

**Hello Everyone!**

 **I'm so sorry this chapter took so long to upload**

 **I had huge writers block with how I wanted the interaction  
between Bella and Edward to go.  
** **Hopefully you enjoy the way it's turned out!**

 **I just want to give a quick shoutout to my amazing friend CiaraShayee  
** **It may seem biased but she's one of the best writers I know.  
So if you get the chance, please give her amazing fics a read.**

 **Another shoutout to SunflowerFran for  
going over my writing and correcting the mistakes I make.  
** **I honestly can't thank you enough for the time you've given me.  
I'm quite irritating so I commend you for putting up  
with me.**

 **Just a little heads up, there is some bad language in this chapter!**

 **Here goes...**

* * *

 **Chapter 4: The Truth**

Edward let me in but remained silent. I figured Rosalie and Alice must have left. It took a minute before either of us said anything.

Edward sighed, "What did you want to talk about?"

I scoffed, "You really don't know why I'm here? I want to know what's wrong with you."

"Oh, I've been sick. Sorry I haven't been in contact. I didn't feel well enough to sit on my phone."

I rolled my eyes, "I'm not talking about why you weren't at college. I mean, why have you been off with me since you come back from Paris?. Before saying you haven't, I'm not falling for the lies anymore. You all know something, and I'm out of the loop, so whatever it is just cut the crap and tell me."

Edward took a deep breath, "Bella, it's nothing important."

"Well if it's not important, you can tell me. Please just tell me."

"Bella -."

I cut him off before he could tell me any more lies, "No, don't try and worm your way out of this. Either tell me or…or…" My heart was racing, I wasn't sure if I wanted to go down the route I was heading. I tried to stop my mouth, but word vomit happened, "Or our friendship is over. For good. I can't have a friend who lies to me and thinks it's okay."

"What? Bella, you don't mean that."

He stepped towards me, but I moved away. I was too angry to be near him. "Yes, I do. Stop it. Don't try and change my mind. This is it, Edward. Either you're honest with me or I'll leave, and that will be it."

Edward frowned, but seconds later a look of anger washed over his face, "Fine then go. I didn't ask you to come here. I didn't ask you to still be my friend."

"Really? So you'd rather lie and lose your best friend than tell the truth? Please, Edward, just tell me the truth. That's all I want."

"Fine. You want the fucking truth. I'm sick."

"Edward, I don't mean this week I mean-"

"Neither do I. I mean I'm sick. I've been sick for a while. It's a little thing called Testicular Cancer. Pretty rare for guys my age."

I stared at him, "What? No. I'd know if you had it…"

"Testicular Cancer. You can say the name. While we're on the subject of being honest, I never went to Paris. I was having Chemotherapy."

I was frozen. I felt miles away from Edward even though were stood a few feet away from each other. How could he have kept something like this from me? There was a silence between us. I was trying to figure out what I had just been told.

I gulped back the tears, "Why didn't you tell me? I'm guessing the others know so why not me?"

"Because I didn't want you to know."

"Why? How could you lie to me and keep up a pretence of being in Paris? How could you look me in the eye and pretend everything was fine?"

Edward furrowed his brows, "That doesn't matter. Just leave it now. You know the truth, you should be happy."

"How could I be? I want to know why you lied." Edward didn't respond. He kept his eyes to the ground. "Tell me, Edward."

"Because…"

"Because what?"

"Because how could I tell you?"

"What? You can tell me anything. I'm your friend. I wouldn't change the way I acted around you."

"I don't care about you acting different Bella. I care about not talking to you."

I shook my head, "What do you mean? I wouldn't stop talking to you about this."

"I was scared, Bella. Imagine if this cancer doesn't go away. I would never talk to you again. I was terrified. I still am. Looking into your eyes and telling you that I might not be here next year hurts so much. I couldn't say goodbye when you're the one person I don't ever want to say it to."

I couldn't help but feel anger towards him for what he was saying, "What? So you would have just let me find out if it went wrong? Let me go about my life thinking everything is okay and then one day not having you there. How could you be so selfish?"

"What? I wasn't being selfish. If I was being selfish, I would have thought about myself and not you."

"You were selfish because you took time away from me. If I lose you, you have taken the time we could have spent together away from me. You didn't give me the chance to do everything I would want to do with you if I knew you wouldn't be here in the future." A small tear managed to break free and roll down my cheek. I couldn't stop the many that followed it. I sat down on the couch and just cried,

"Bella. Bella, please don't cry. I'm sorry." Edward knelt down in front of me. "Please look at me."

I heard him sniffle. Uncovering my eyes and looking into his I could see the pain he was feeling. "I just…I thought you would have told me. I would have been there for you. Helped you through this. Been the person you needed."

"I know Bella, but at the time, I was scared. I'm still scared. I didn't want you to feel the pain I felt. I didn't want to ruin things for you."

"You wouldn't ruin anything Edward. You would have received my support."

He shrugged, "I just couldn't tell you. I'm sorry but I couldn't. I didn't want to hurt you."

I wiped away my tears and took a deep breath, "Well what now? Are you still doing chemotherapy?"

He shook his head and moved to sit next to me, "No. I've finished. I find out in a few weeks if it worked."

"What if it didn't? Then what?"

"We'll weigh up my options. See where we go from here."

I took Edwards hand, "Well, I want to be there. Please? I want to celebrate with you if it's good news, or be your support network if it isn't." Edward sighed, "I know you probably don't want me to Edward, but I want to be there for you. Please let me."

He nodded, "Okay. But I don't want any of the pity shit. I get that from the others, so I don't need it from you."

I rolled my eyes, "What? I was already planning the pity party in my head." We both chuckled, and he pulled me in for a hug.

"Knowing you, you probably would make a dick move like that."

"Hey." I nudged him, "On a plus side, at least the chemo didn't make you lose your porn star locks."

Edward laughed, "Very true."

I smiled, "Thank you for being honest. I'll help you through whatever is thrown at you."

"I know. I'm sorry I didn't tell you. It was stupid."  
"I'm just glad you told me now." We both sat in silence for a minute. It felt good to actually have a comfortable silence between us. It was the first time since before the summer that it was as if things were getting back to how they were.

Then the realisation of what I had been doing before turning up at Edward's had hit me. "Uh, Edward, I know we've just had a cute moment, but I kind of have a date waiting outside."

Edward looked confused, "What?"

"I met a guy, and we were on a date tonight. He brought me here."

"Oh, sorry to take up your time."

"Shut up." I giggled, "I wanted to come here and sort things out. But I should probably get back to him."

Edward nodded, "Of course. Maybe you can come over tomorrow, and we can discuss everything, and whatever questions you have, I'll answer."

"Perfect. I'll be here at twelve as long as I get some lunch."

"We'll see."

I smiled and gave him a hug. "Thank you. For being honest. Get some sleep. and I'll see you tomorrow."

"Yes, mum." Our hug lasted a few seconds. I gave him a peck on the cheek before heading back out to Carlisle.

Carlisle was leaning on the car waiting for me. "How did it go?"

I nodded, "It went well. Really well."

"Did he tell you what was wrong?"

"Yeah, just some silly stuff." I didn't think it was my place to tell Carlisle what was going on with Edward.

Once he had made his way back into the drivers side, he looked at me, "So, where did you want to go now?"

I shrugged, "I'm kind of tired."

"Did you want me to take you home?"

I looked over at Carlisle, "Do you mind?"

"Of course not."

Carlisle drove me to my home. He kindly walked me to the door.

"Carlisle, I'm sorry this date wasn't what either of us planned. I'm sorry most of my time was spent with Edward."

He shook his head, "Hey, it's fine. I'm sure we'll do it again so we can make up for it then."

I chuckled, "Of course. Thank you though; I had a lot of fun."

"Me too." Carlisle placed a soft kiss on my cheek, "Go get some sleep. I'll text you in the morning."

"Okay. Thank you again." I smiled at him before going inside.

The night was pretty successful. Edward and I made up, and the time I spent with Carlisle was pretty fun. After getting into bed, I sent a thank you text to him, and a see you tomorrow text to Edward before settling down and drifting off to sleep.

* * *

 **THE TRUTH IS OUT!**

 **What did you think?**

 **I love all of the theories you guys had!**

 **I know there was very little of B/C in this chapter,  
** **but I kind of wanted the main focus to be B/E and how Bella took the truth.**

 **Thank you for taking the time to stick with me and continue to read what I post!**

 **So much love for you all  
** **T  
** **xoxo**


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